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TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan and Kazakhstan plan to sign an agreement to jointly develop rare earth metals critical to electronics and auto makers, aiming to lower dependence on China, the Asahi Shimbun daily said on Saturday. Japan's Trade Minister Yukio Edano will meet Kazakh government officials, including President Nursultan Nazarbayev, to sign the agreement in early May, making way for Sumitomo Corp , Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp and Kazatoprom to partner in rare earth extraction, the paper said. ...

Japan and Kazakhstan plan to sign an agreement to jointly develop rare earth metals critical to electronics and auto makers, aiming to lower dependence on China, the Asahi Shimbun daily said on Saturday. ...

Japan will jointly develop rare earths with Kazakhstan as part of its efforts to secure supplies of the key minerals now controlled by China, according to a newspaper.Japan plans to reach an accord when trade and industry minister Yukio Edano visits the central Asian country in early May and meets Kazakh government officials, including President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Asahi Shimbun reported.

Buoyed by record world prices for rare earth elements (RREs), North Korea has begun seeking deposits on its territory to help with its chronic international trade and budget deficits. China is currently responsible for the production of over 90 percent of the world’s output of RREs.

ETF Database submits: Interest in hard assets as an investment opportunity has surged in recent years, thanks in large part to the introduction of several ETFs that allow investors easy access to a diversified basket of companies engaged in the extraction and production of various commodities. Funds investing in gold miners, silver miners, and lithium production have popped up, each attracting significant cash inflows from investors.

By Hard Assets Investor:
By Amine Bouchentouf
These are tough days for one of the world's largest miners of rare-earth minerals and strategic metals, but unlike other commodity-related companies struggling because of macro issues and a global economic slowdown, Colorado-based Molycorp's problems are largely self-inflicted.And make no mistake about it, the injury to the company from management missteps could prove fatal for this once-thriving company.